Ashes to Ashes
by Sheepchi
Summary: There was no way the age of magic would last forever. XellosLina
1. Prologue

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Rating: T**

**Author's Note:** Heeeeey. Yeah, I know. Apparently changing my email address and not updating my account was a bad idea. Also, life is crazy. But here we are. I'm reposting this story (because there were about a billion typos that need to be corrected), and I plan to continue with it. It's been a while, though, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading, guys.

**Summary:** "There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Prologue**

**

* * *

**

When he had last seen her, he knew that her time was nearly over.

Sharp foresight is an occupational hazard of being a high-level mazoku.

At the time, the grim premonition that emanated from her did not bother him. He saw no problem for himself connected to her fate.

Blindness to the interconnectedness one's own life to that of another is a hazard of being a living being of any sort.

She had always been perceptive, herself; he suspected that she probably had as much of an idea of her fate as he did—possibly more, though he didn't care to determine if that was the case. Her parting words to him had been cryptic, uncharacteristically dark and foreboding.

_"Do you think you'll miss this world when it ends?"_

She didn't wait for his answer.

_"I will. But time moves on, I guess."_

On some level, he must have understood her meaning, but at the time, it didn't seem terribly important.

Now, as he stood, watching witch hunters burning down the shrines and libraries of Atlas City, it was clear.

The time of worldwide acceptance of magic was drawing to a sudden and violent close. All it took was one sorcerer misfiring a spell—the accidental death of a noblewoman. The world was suddenly full of anti-magic vigilantes. Practitioners of the art were being systematically sought out and murdered.

And even the great Lina Inverse was unable to avoid the inevitable.

The mazoku race had been able to carelessly dismiss the havoc until the news of the infamous redhead's death reached them.

Lina had done a great deal of good in her lifetime. True, most of it was unintentional, but even so many owed her their lives. She had made enemies, there was no denying that, but most of them were supernatural, and that she could deal with.

Innocent people calling for her blood was another matter entirely.

Lina had gone surprisingly quietly—despite her abrasive nature, she didn't enjoy harming innocent people. He assumed that was why she didn't fight back.

The more he thought on it, though, the more he was convinced that she had seen her demise and thought it unwise to fight fate.

None of that really mattered at this point. After Lina was killed, the mazoku race was forced to become more discreet with their workings. True, it took magic to kill them, but that didn't mean that anti-magic sentiment wouldn't cause a problem for them. What was worse was that the stories of the Gods and the dragons and the mazoku were no longer being told. It's difficult to intimidate and manipulate people who believe that you're only a figment of their imagination.

It had taken years to come to this point. Thousands of sorcerers had died, and the world was all but purged of those who practiced magic. At least, those who practiced in public. Atlas City was the last safe haven for sorcerers.

At least, until now.

From his vantage point on a hilltop just outside the city, he had a good view of the carnage ensuing. Lina's words tumbled around in his mind.

_"Do you think you'll miss this world when it ends?"_

"It couldn't last forever," he mumbled to himself.

"That's true," a voice from behind him said nonchalantly.

The appearance of the Beastmaster was no shock to him. He turned his back on the destruction and faced her.

"What are we to do now?" he asked.

Zelas didn't respond immediately. Her eyes fell on the scene in the fast burning Atlas City; she studied it for a moment.

"It's best for us to just… disappear for a while," the Beastmaster said slowly. "There's nothing we can do as long as humans are denying the existence of magic."

"That makes sense," he said quietly.

"We'll wait until the world is willing to accept magic again," Zelas continued. "Then we'll come back. Start over."

He was silent.

Zelas smiled. "It won't take as long as you think. Maybe a thousand years at the most."

"We just wait?"

"Yes."

He turned his eyes back to the city—or what was left of it. "It's a shame, really," he said thoughtfully. "This age had such talent in it."

"Well, the greats will return," Zelas said confidently.

"Really?"

"Of course, Xellos," Zelas laughed. "And you'll be the one to greet them."

The Beastmaster placed a cool hand on her servant's forehead.

And that was the last thing Xellos remembered for a very long time.

* * *

**End Prologue**


	2. Just Under the Surface

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary:** "There was no way the age of magic could last forever." Xellos/Lina

**DISCLAIMER: **_The Slayers_ doesn't belong to me. Don't sue me; I have no money.

**Chapter One:** **Just Under the Surface

* * *

**

Lina frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Now that she thought about it, maybe red hair didn't suit her. She really wasn't sure what had possessed her to dye it—there was nothing _wrong_ with her brown hair.

It just didn't feel right.

What had made her decide that red would be better, she couldn't say. With her ruby hued eyes, her new hair color made Lina look like a ball of flames given a human form.

"It'll just take some getting used to," she assured herself, turning away from the mirror.

Lina stretched and popped her back before padding out of her room into the kitchen.

Since she'd enrolled at Atlas City University three semesters ago, Lina had lived in a small on-campus apartment. When her closest friend from high school had been accepted, Lina invited her to share the apartment.

Her roommate was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"G'morning, Amelia," Lina said, making her way to the cupboard and pulling out a bowl.

"I like the hair," Amelia returned; Lina shrugged. "Did you sleep well?"

"Eh," Lina shrugged, joining the other girl at the table. "Same as usual."

Amelia watched her roommate eating her cereal with a concerned look on her face.

"The dream again?"

Lina didn't respond.

"It was, wasn't it?" Amelia sighed. "Lina, I'm really getting worried. I mean, who knows what kind of effects this will have on your personality in the long run! You're fragile enough as it is, and—"

"Amelia, I swear, if you don't shut up, I'm going to take this bowl of cereal and drown you in it," Lina said.

"But—"

"Please," Lina said exasperatedly. "I've been having this dream since I was a kid. I think whatever long-run personality effects it might have would be obvious by now."

"I guess so…."

"So just drop it."

Reluctantly, Amelia relented, allowing Lina to return to her breakfast.

With Amelia silenced, Lina took the opportunity to consider her dream. She'd had the same nightmare every so often for as long as she could remember, and it always ended with her own bloody demise.

She never saw the action clearly—the dream was more feeling than seeing; the events never flowed well. Blood and screams were the only vivid portions, aside from the one clear image that always concluded the dream: her own bloodied and lifeless body crumpled on a cold stone floor. Before she came to Atlas City, she only had the dream a few nights a year.

Now she was seeing her death nearly every night. And, though she'd never admit it to her roommate, it was starting to trouble her.

Lina finished her cereal and dropped her bowl in the sink.

"I'm gonna go to the library," Lina said, grabbing her book bag. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Amelia watched her roommate leave, frowning at Lina's back.

* * *

There were only about ten people in the library this early in the morning—most of the students were either in class or in bed. Lina was sitting at one of the tables in the back section of the library, leafing through the yellowed pages of a dusty volume.

The back section of the library was the least crowded place on campus. The section was devoted to the long-dead art of magic; hardly anyone looked in this area, unless they had an obscure history project, so Lina was able to be alone with her thoughts.

Lina chewed on the end of a strand of her hair. She stared at the page in front of her without really taking in anything written on it.

"It helps if you actually _read_ the book, Lina," a masculine voice stated.

The red head dropped her hair and turned to the speaker. She heaved a sigh of relief when she recognized him. "God, Zel, keep sneaking up on me like that and you'll give me a heart attack."

"Sorry," Zel said, falling into a seat next to her. "Nice hair, by the way. Red suits you. Why are you looking in the magic section, anyway? I thought you didn't believe in this stuff."

Lina shrugged and flipped a few pages in the book. "I just needed some time alone to think about stuff. Thanks for ruining that for me, by the way."

"Sorry," Zel repeated. "Anything I can do?"

Lina shook her head. "Nah. It's just a funk. I have to work myself out of it."

"If you say so," Zel shrugged, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. He watched Lina mildly turning the pages of the tome for a moment, pausing when she saw passages of interest, considering her carefully.

"You do believe in it, don't you?"

Lina looked up. "Hm?"

"Magic," Zel clarified. "You do believe in it. You just don't want to admit it."

"Yeah, well," Lina sighed, gently closing the book and hugging it to her. "It beats the hell out of settling for being normal, right?"

Zel laughed. "I guess so. I'll admit, I've taken a few looks at some of these." He gestured to the shelves of books around them. "It's some interesting stuff."

"Yeah," Lina agreed. "But it's more than just good reading. Sometimes it just feels like there's supposed to be more, y'know? Like maybe this magic stuff is what was meant to be, and it was taken away. Like now we're empty."

"That's a little deeper than I'm comfortable with," Zel said, rising from his chair. "Especially fifteen minutes before class. I'll see you later, Lina."

Lina waved him off, returning to her reading.

Zel had only taken a few steps before turning and addressing Lina again. "I get it, Lina," he said softly. "I see it sometimes."

"Either way, it doesn't matter," Lina said, the slightest trace of regret in her voice. "We'd all be burned at the stake anyway."

"Yeah, probably," Zel said. "Too bad, I guess. Anyway, I've gotta go, or I'll be late."

"'Kay," Lina said, standing up and tucking the book into her bag. "I'll catch you later, Zelgadis."

**

* * *

**

Lina stared down at the scribbles she had made in the margins of her notes and sighed. This class just didn't manage to hold her attention.

The professor continued to lecture about…something—Lina was no longer sure what; she'd stopped listening somewhere along the way. She sat, head resting in her palm, tracing lines on her paper while he droned on.

When class was dismissed, Lina gathered the papers she'd been using and began shoving them into her bag. When she reached the last of them, she paused.

The marks melded together to create the graceful form of…something. Long and elegant. And it had wings. Lina wrinkled her nose. She couldn't quite tell _what_ she'd drawn, but it did seem familiar.

"Weird," she muttered to herself, tossing the paper into her bag with the rest of them and making her way out of the classroom.

Biting winter air met Lina as she stepped from the classroom and into the open air; she repressed a shudder. She crossed the quad at a swift pace, wanting to spend as little time out in the chill as possible. When she came to the walkway that lead to her apartment, Lina paused. She could see light pouring through the windows in the kitchen, and neither she nor Amelia were wont to leave lights on—someone, probably Amelia and her study group, was at the apartment.

Lina winced at the prospect of joining Amelia and her friends in the apartment. Amelia's friends were sweet, but Lina could only handle so much high-pitched squealing and giggling.

She took a moment to consider her options. She could go in the apartment and spend a few hours questioning why she ever became friends with Amelia in the first place, or she could duck back to the library and come back later—hopefully after the apartment had emptied.

Slinging her book bag over her shoulder, Lina set off in the direction of the library.

**

* * *

**

The florescent lighting in the library might have been well suited for reading, but at the moment it was merely draining. Lina stifled a yawn as she flipped through the pages of the volume she'd been scanning earlier that day.

The alarm on Lina's phone went off. The phone's clock read eleven thirty. Amelia's study group had probably disbanded; Lina began gathering her things, preparing to go home.

A slight flicker of the lights startled Lina into alertness; she dropped her bag quietly to the floor and made a quick scan of the entire room. Nothing that she saw seemed out of the ordinary. Shrugging off the feeling of uneasiness that had crept upon her, Lina began to make her way to the door.

Once again, the lights flickered. Lina allowed the strap of her bag to slip out of her hand.

"Hello?" she called tentatively. "Hello?"

No answer came.

"Weird," she muttered, shouldering her bag once more.

She had taken not one full step forward before bumping into something. A man's torso was right in front of her face. She looked up to see his grinning visage.

"Hello!" he said jovially.

Lina jumped back from him, swinging her bag around in front of her as if it were a shield.

"Who the hell are you?"

* * *

**End Chapter One**


	3. Glimpse into Future and Past

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Rating: T**

**Summary: **"There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

_Italics_ indicates a dream/flashback.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing.

**Chapter Two: Glimpse into Future and Past

* * *

**

Lina didn't quite know what to make of the man standing before her. He was grinning far more than was appropriate for late night in the library, in her opinion. And he still hadn't answered her question.

"Who are you?" she demanded again.

"That's not important," he said good-naturedly.

"The hell it's not!" Lina exclaimed. "Only students and staff are allowed in here. You don't have a badge, so you're not staff, and I know all the students who hang around here this late. You tell me what you're doing here before I get campus security out here."

Much to Lina's dismay, the man looked quite unperturbed by her statement; he leaned against the table at which Lina had been sitting, examining his fingernails.

"Hey! Are you even listening?" she asked.

"Hm?"

Lina scowled. It was one thing to deal with people who didn't want to give her information when she asked for it, but it seemed like this guy was just _trying_ to get a rise out of her.

And it was working.

"Look, Mister," she snapped, "I don't know who you think you are, but you've got no right to be here—"

"Yes I do," the man said, matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"I have a right to be here," the man said.

"What are you talking about?"

The man didn't answer her, though by this point Lina didn't find that surprising. He brushed past her, making his way to the door.

"I'm Xellos, by the way," he said as he exited. "Look me up."

"What?"

"In the book. You'll find me in there."

Lina didn't remember seeing him go through the door, but as soon as the statement was out of his mouth, the man had disappeared.

"Weird," she mumbled to herself. "Definitely really weird."

**

* * *

**

_"Get out of there, witch! You can't hide from us any longer!"_

_Lina Inverse heaved an exasperated sigh. Couldn't these people at least let her take a nap before they came banging on her door and making demands?_

_"Come on, witch, before we break down the door!"_

_Lina rolled her eyes, rising in order to answer the door. _

_When the mob rushed her, she didn't even bother to defend. It would've seemed to easy after all the years she had spent fighting off the strongest of mazoku. _

_The memories of her years of glory brought a smirk to her face even as she was forced to her knees by several sets of strong hands. So many people—many of the very people manhandling her at that very moment—owed their lives to her._

_Funny, really, how fate allowed things to work out._

_But it was inevitable, she supposed. Magic was too powerful to go unquestioned forever. _

_She'd been thinking that a great deal, lately. And she knew the instant that she heard about the accidental death of that noble that her era was going to draw to a rapid close. _

_She knew from that moment that she didn't have very long to live._

_She saw the glint of an ax as it was handed to a strong-armed man and thought suddenly and inexplicably of Xellos. Her extinction was a fact, but what would become of the mazoku? Would these people attempt to kill them, too? Would the mazoku allow their reign to end?_

_Their lives weren't in any danger. Regular humans were nothing more than irksome flies to the mazoku. The best thing for them to do would be lay low. _

_Lina nearly laughed aloud at the thought of Xellos spending a great length of time without anyone to torment. She almost regretted missing that. Almost._

_She knew the ax was mere moments from descending on her, but, in classic Lina style, she was unafraid. _

_What reason did she have to be afraid? She'd been a legend in a great age. And legends never die._

_A smile graced the sorceress's lips even after the ax fell onto her neck.

* * *

_

Lina woke with a start. The gleaming numbers on her clock glared 1:30 A.M. Exhaling deeply, she placed her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes in a vain attempt to rid her mind of the disturbing image of her own severed head.

She'd had that same dream four times within the past week. The details were always a bit blurry: she never saw the faces of those that killed her, never recognized her surroundings, never knew why she didn't fight back and never remembered the name of the last person the dream Lina thought of.

That is, until this particular night.

"Xellos," she mumbled to herself, massaging her temples in an effort to concentrate. "Why does that sound familiar?"

And then the thought struck her.

The man in the library had left her his name.

_Xellos…._

But there was no way that could be who she'd been thinking of in the dream. She'd never even _met_ him until tonight.

Even as those thoughts entered her mind, Lina crossed the room, turned on the lights and pulled the book she'd brought back from the library out of her bag and leafed through the pages.

The sensible part of her knew that the man couldn't possibly be mentioned in the book; he didn't appear to be all that much older than she was, and the book had first been published centuries ago—the copy she had borrowed, itself, was at least fifty years old, falling apart and yellowed. All the same, she nearly immediately found his name.

_Xellos…._

She scanned the entry containing the name and paled.

For several moments, she stared at the page, allowing the more important words of the passage to scamper about her brain.

_Mazoku_

_Dragons_

_Magic_

_Demons_

All she could think to do at that point was say one brief sentence.

"Oh, shit."

* * *

**End Chapter Two**


	4. Attempts at Understanding

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Rating: T**

**Summary: **"There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own _The Slayers_. So there.

**Chapter Three: Attempts at Understanding

* * *

**

"Lina? Lina, are you in there?"

The red head groaned and lifted her head off of her desk. The pages of a book swam before her eyes. She must've fallen asleep reading that book; the thought of the things she had seen in it made her groan again.

"Lina?"

Amelia was pounding on the door to Lina's room frantically.

"Lina, seriously, answer or I'm coming in there!"

"I'm here, I'm fine," Lina said, popping her back.

Amelia opened the door and came and sat on the edge of Lina's bed.

"What happened yesterday?" the dark haired girl asked. "I didn't hear you come back in—and you slept through your alarm. You missed your class this morning."

Lina swore, flinging books back into her bag. "I can't believe this! Some stupid guy gets me all worked up and I go and screw up my whole academic future."

"A guy?" Amelia said, abashed. "What guy? You met a guy?"

"Not like _that_," Lina said, rolling her eyes. "Forget it. You go, go to class."

Sighing, Amelia rose from the bed and made her way out of the room.

Lina aimed a kick at her book bag. She'd missed her first class, and her next one wasn't for a few hours.

Maybe she'd visit the library and try to find out more about Xellos.

**

* * *

**

"God, Lina, do you ever leave this place?" Zelgadis asked, dropping a stack of books on the table at which the red head sat.

"Not lately," she admitted. "Have you ever heard the name Xellos?"

Zelgadis pondered for a moment, frowning. "Sounds familiar. Couldn't tell you where I know it from."

"I figured."

"Why did you ask?"

Lina twirled a piece of her hair around her forefinger. Did she dare tell Zelgadis that she believed she met a man that had garnered mention in one of the old tomes of magic lore?

"Zel," she began, "You're gonna think I'm completely crazy—"

"I already do," Zelgadis smiled.

"This is serious, Zel," Lina said. "I think… I think I met one of the people from this book." She gestured to the book sitting in front of her.

Her companion raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Lina, this book was written over four hundred years ago. Anyone in it would have died ages ago."

"Yeah I know. Common sense says that there's no way I met this Xellos guy, but I know, I _know_ it's him."

"Alright, I believe you," Zel sighed. "You've never been one to make up stuff like this. What do you know about this guy?"

Lina pushed the book across the table; Zelgadis scanned the page.

"Lina, do you realize what this is saying?" he said, flipping the page and reading more.

"Yes," Lina sighed, massaging her temples. "Look, I know it's weird and probably bad, but…. It's what I've been looking for, isn't it? Another life?"

Zelgadis's eyes widened. "You really... you really think that this magic stuff is for real? Lina, I get that you're a forward thinker and all, but this is… this is big."

"Yeah. Exciting, isn't it?"

Zel frowned. "Not exactly."

Lina pulled the book back to her, reading the passage containing Xellos's name once more. She continued to leaf through the pages until Zelgadis grabbed hold of her hand.

"I know you don't want to hear a lecture," he began.

"But you're going to give me one anyway."

He ignored her. "This stuff is dangerous, Lina. You wanna know why it isn't taught here? There were huge anti-magic riots. People were _killed_ for messing around with magic.

"You're my best friend, Lina. I don't want to see you get hurt."

**

* * *

**

Hours passed. The last rays of the sun were peeking through the large, arc-shaped windows, throwing splashes of crimson and gold across the tables and shelves. Lina leaned on the table, her head resting in the palm of her hand. She was very nearly asleep; her eyelids were feeling particularly heavy, and a comfortable warmth was spreading across her.

A cold finger tracing a line down her neck caused Lina to scream and jump to her feet.

"Oh, my," said an indecently cheery voice. "Did I scare you?"

The grinning face of Xellos met Lina's eyes.

"Xellos," she said, simply.

He nodded, his grin staying persistently in place. "What did you want from me?"

"I—what? What are you talking about? You're the one who keeps showing up around me!"

"Really?" he said, sounding mildly interested. "Why do you suppose that is?"

"I have no friggin' idea, but it's really starting to piss me off," Lina said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"Wonderful," Xellos said, sitting down in the chair next to the one Lina had just vacated. For the first time since he had appeared to Lina, Xellos opened his eyes, revealing the most piercing amethyst eyes she'd ever seen. Though she'd sooner die than admit it, Lina was quite unnerved.

"Do you know who I am, Lina Inverse?"

Lina blinked. "You told me who you were," she said. "When you came up to me the first time."

"I told you my name," Xellos stated. "But _do you know who I am_?"

She thought for a moment, considering what she'd read in the book and what she remembered from her dream, though she really didn't see what affect the latter had on the question that had been posed to her.

"I…sort of."

Xellos waited for her to continue.

"I know that you're some kind of really powerful magical being, one of the ones that the book says has been in hiding since the end of the age of sorcery." Lina look for some reaction from Xellos, but none came. She continued. "And that you must have come looking for me for a reason."

His grin broadened.

Lina tilted her head to one side, considering the man that sat before her. "You're not going to tell me why you found me, are you?"

He shrugged. "Not all of the reason, no. There's no fun in that. But there are parts you need to know."

A couple of moments passed in silence; the two of them just looked at each other, Xellos looking very much at ease, and Lina wearing a somber, thoughtful expression.

"The dream," she said at last.

She was given no answer; Xellos was idly flipping the pages of the book Lina had spent the last day and a half poring over.

"You know about the dream I've been having," Lina said softly.

Slowly, his eyes still resting on Lina, Xellos nodded.

Lina sat down next to him, leaning forward in excitement.

"Well?" she asked. "What does it mean?"

He gestured for her to come closer; Lina leaned even closer.

His lips gently brushed her ear as he whispered his answer.

"That's a secret."

* * *

**End Chapter Three**


	5. Secrets

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary: ** "There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer:** I'm a student. I can't even afford a pen. What makes you think I could possibly own _The Slayers_?

**Chapter Four: Secrets

* * *

**

"So let me get this straight," Lina said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she and Xellos left the library, walking in the direction of Lina's apartment. "You're a high level mazoku sent to find me because I have some big important destiny. And the dreams I've been having are imperative to fulfilling that destiny. Right so far?"

Xellos nodded, smiling.

"And you know what my dream means."

"Yes."

"But you can't tell me?"

"I _can_ tell you," Xellos corrected. "I just would rather not."

Lina stopped walking. "What the hell does that mean?"

He didn't give her an answer. Lina heaved an exasperated sigh and resumed the trek to the apartment.

"Okay, so you won't tell me about the dream," she said. "Will you at least tell me _why_ you insisted on meeting my friends?"

"They're important to your destiny," he said nonchalantly. Lina made to interrupt him, but Xellos continued to speak. "Before the end of the Age of Magic, there were three great socerers. They were some of the last to fall victim to the witch hunters."

"And my friends and I—we're those three?"

Xellos smiled. "I didn't say that, did I?"

Lina raised an eyebrow. "So that means we are?"

She didn't receive an answer; the pair of them had just arrived at the apartment.

Xellos watched her as she dug in her bag for her keys. It was remarkable, really, how little reincarnation had altered Lina's personality. She was as shrewd as ever.

The redhead felt someone's gaze upon her; her eyes snapped over to her companion. "What? What're you staring at?"

Amelia came rushing out of the apartment, pulling Lina's attention away from Xellos.

"Lina, what's going on?" The dark haired girl demanded. "Zelgadis came by. He seemed really worried."

"Zel still here?" Lina asked.

Amelia frowned. "Yeah, but—"

"Great. Let's talk inside." Lina led the way into the apartment, Xellos following her; Amelia stood just outside the door, looking perplexed.

"By the way," Lina said, leaning out the door, "this is Xellos."

* * *

Lina grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen; Zel followed her into the room.

"I don't like this, Lina," he said immediately. "I really don't like this."

She pretended not to hear him. "Want some water, Zel?"

"Lina, I'm being serious here. There's something about this guy that makes me really uneasy. I can't believe you brought him to your apartment—I mean, now he knows where to find you."

"He knew where to find me anyway," Lina pointed out. "I think he'd have found this place on his own."

"I don't like him," Zel said plainly.

Lina rolled her eyes. "Well, that's a shock."

He continued unperturbed. "This guy shows up out of nowhere with all of this information about you, telling you that he's some demon, and you're just gonna go along with him? Lina, you're smarter than that."

"Then don't lecture me," Lina snapped.

"You expect me to just sit back and watch you be led along down what's inevitably going to be a dangerous road by some fruitcake you met in the library?"

"Not talking about me, are you?" Xellos inquired innocently as he stepped into the kitchen, Amelia at his heels.

An awkward silence followed.

"Er… let's just have a seat, okay?" Lina said, gesturing to the table.

Xellos waited until everyone was seated to speak again.

"I suppose you're curious as to what I know about you," he said, slowly.

"I'm more curious about how you know it," Zelgadis said, his eyes narrowed in the other man's direction.

"Very suspecting, aren't you?" Xellos said lightly, his grin never fading from his face.

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I shouldn't be?"

"Not at all."

"As much fun as this is," Lina said, rubbing her temples, "can we please move on to the whole point of this little introduction." She turned her eyes to Xellos. "You've met my friends; now, will you give me some real information? Like the reason why I've been having that dream?"

Xellos opened one eye, regarding Lina with an air of mild interest before saying, "During the Age of Magic, there was a great sorceress named Lina Inverse."

Amelia gasped. "Lina, that's _your_ name!"

Lina winced. "I caught that, Amelia, thanks. Keep going, Xellos."

"This sorceress," the mazoku continued, "Traveled through the world, collecting treasures and building her skills. A few years into her travels she came across other particularly talented individuals: a swordsman named Gourry Gabriev who wielded the Sword of Light, a chimera with quite a gift for Shamanist magic—Zelgadis Greywords was his name—and a young princess named Amelia from Seyruun who was studying to be a shrine maiden.

"There were a few other people who flitted in and out of the group's inclusion, but these four were widely considered the greatest mercenaries of the age; they were the last to fall in the slaughters at the end of the age."'

"So what did they have to do with you?" Amelia asked. "Did mazoku fight with sorcerers?"

Xellos pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. "Sometimes," he said, half opening his eyes. "Sometimes. But even enemies have to work together occasionally. Goals of opposing side sometimes intersect. That's how I came to know Lina, myself."

He turned his attention to Lina, who was scrutinizing him through narrowed eyes, her head tilted to one side.

"Gourry," she said slowly. "I've never met anyone by that name. Well, not in _this _life."

"Ah, yes," Xellos nodded. "He didn't return for another lifetime. He chose to move on into death, as it were. Too enlightened to come back to this world."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "That smart of a guy, huh?"

Xellos's grin broadened. "Not really, no. He was a complete idiot, actually. If I recall correctly, you dubbed him a jellyfish brain, yourself."

"…Oh…."

"Funny how it works that way," Xellos commented lightly, examining his fingernails.

"None of this explains what you want with us, why you sought us out," Zelgadis said curtly. "What are you after?"

Xellos clicked his tongue. "You always were an impatient one. If you _must_ know, at the end of the Age of Magic, my master had me hibernate until the three of you entered this life again. When that time arrived, I was to find you and reintroduce you to the world of magic."

"What's the point of that?" Lina asked. "The Age of Magic is over— there haven't been any real sorcerers in centuries; we'd have no reason to use magic, even if we learned it."

"I think a reason would present itself," Xellos said.

Lina frowned. "Such as?"

A jovially grin was once more hitched on to Xellos's face. "That's a secret."

Zelgadis caught Lina's eye. "You're saying that there may be some threat to make us use magic, but you won't tell us what the danger is?"

"Yes, that's pretty much the idea," Xellos answered breezily. "The point is, danger or no, you have to learn magic again. The three of you are meant to bring magic back in to vogue."

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Lina laughed. "It might come as a shock to you, but I've never actually started a movement to revive a centuries dead way of life. Not to mention the fact that I don't remember anything about casting spells or making potions or anything like that."

Xellos seemed highly unbothered by Lina's statement. "You still have that book, don't you?"

Lina blinked. "Er…yeah, I think so."

"Then, you'll be fine," Xellos said. "You'll have to study, of course, relearn the smaller spells, but I don't imagine it'll take too long for the likes of you to reach your former glory." His grin dimmed, if only minutely. "That's not to say it won't be difficult; there's still a bit of anti-magic sentiment—I know the dragons for one aren't too keen on humans practicing magic again—but still…."

For the second time, Xellos opened his eyes, piercing Lina with a calculating stare.

"You were great in those days, Lina, even the mazoku admitted it," he said softly. "You'll be great again. You just need to learn how."

Lina studied Xellos thoughtfully for a few moments. "Okay, let's say we go along with this." Zelgadis and Amelia both made to interrupt her, but Lina held up a hand to stop them. "How do we learn this stuff?"

"There are spells in that book," Xellos said, his close-eyed grin returned. "But there's only one good way to recall the past." He rose from the table, heading in the direction of the door. "We'll have to take a little trip. Visit some old acquaintances."

The mazoku vanished, but his voice remained, saying, "You'll need to be ready to go in the morning—there's quite a journey ahead of us."

* * *

**End Chapter Four**


	6. Dreams

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary:** "There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

_Italics_ indicates a dream or flashback.

**Rating: T**

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own _Slayers_. That's all there is to it.

**Chapter Five: Dreams

* * *

**

Lina threw the last of the items she planned to take with her into her book bag; she struggled to close the zipper around her hairbrush, two sets of clothes and the enormous tome she'd lifted from the library. She frowned at the bulging bag; something told her that, for all of the time she'd spent trying to ensure that she had packed efficiently, she still wasn't ready for a journey like the one she was about to embark on. Xellos hadn't told her how long this "little trip" of his would take; all he'd said was that she, Zelgadis and Amelia had best prepare to leave.

Zelgadis, for his part, had refused to pack. "There's no way I'm leaving here to follow that guy," he said. "And I don't think you should, either, Lina. There's no way it can end well."

A sigh escaped Lina's lips as she kicked her bag aside. Listening to Zelgadis would probably have been the wisest thing she could do; he was usually right when it came to people. But, even so, Lina couldn't deny that there was a part of her that was positively aching to go on this journey; some long-suppressed part of her that _knew_ that Xellos was telling her the truth, that she _had_ to learn magic again.

She'd been putting up with this internal debate since Xellos had last spoken to the three of them, and it was starting to wear on her nerves.

Aiming another kick at her bag, Lina made her way to her bathroom and began running water for a shower.

She took a few deep breaths, taking in the steam that was writhing from the shower and allowing it to calm her nerves and clear her head.

Yes, she ought to listen to Zelgadis. What did she know about Xellos, anyway? He said he knew about her dream and what it meant—maybe he was supposed to be the one to lead her to that grisly death. He'd never promised her a _safe_ journey.

Even considering that, Lina thought as she ran her fingers through her sopping hair, the promise of great magical power was enticing. And she'd never forgive herself if Xellos had been telling the truth and she didn't follow him.

Slowly, Lina turned the dial to cut the water off. She pulled on her pajamas and padded into her room, patting the excess water from her hair with a fluffy black towel. Yawning, she pulled back the covers and slid into her bed, dropping the towel on the floor.

Her ruby eyes surveyed the room quickly one more time before she allowed them to slip shut and invite sleep to come upon them.

**

* * *

**

_The news of her friends' deaths reached her with incredible swiftness. It was as if the non-magical population was trying to destroy her piece by piece. _

_ And it was working._

_ Lina held the letter containing the details of the most recent death—Zelgadis—close to a burning candle, allowing the flames to engulf the missive. _

_ Aware as she was that the present situation made it impossible for her to aide her friends, Lina still blamed herself, to some degree, for the fates that had met her friends. The only one of her traveling companions that was left, if even _he_ was still alive was Gourry, and that was only because he didn't know how to use magic, himself. The last Lina had heard, he'd been jailed near Atlas City—which had burnt down days ago. She hadn't yet heard if he'd made it out of the city alive._

_ Until now, Lina had managed to stay several steps ahead of her pursuers, but now… fighting to survive didn't seem worth it. After all, what would the point of being a sorcery genius be if she had to spend the rest of her years in hiding?_

_ So she decided to stop running. And it didn't take long for the witch hunters to find her._

_ The hunters didn't parade the redhead's body, as they had with many of the sorcerers they had slain. Instead, they left the severed head lying where it had fallen, next to the body, its fiery hair soaking in the blood pooled around it._

**

* * *

**

"Damn it, am I ever going to get a descent night's sleep again?" Lina cried as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "These damn dreams…."

"They're bound to become more frequent as you learn more about your past life," a familiar, cheery voice stated nonchalantly.

Lina blinked. "Xellos? What are you doing in my room? How the hell did you get in?"

The intruder offered no answer; he raised a finger to his lips, grinning. "Having second thoughts about going on this journey, Lina?" he asked.

"Maybe," Lina replied, pulling her knees under her chin. "But, you know, you really didn't give us much in the way of details about where we're going and how we're getting there. Not to mention the fact that Zel, Amelia and I all have lives here. You're asking us to just drop everything and follow you to God knows where to do God knows what. I think I'm entitled to second thoughts."

"That's, reasonable," Xellos admitted, his eyes opening. "But you'll end up coming with me. We both know that."

Lina sighed. "Yeah, I know. The thing is, I don't know if you'll be able to convince Zelgadis and Amelia to go along with this. Zel says he's not following you anywhere."

Xellos's grin broadened and his eyes slid shut again. "Don't worry about that. They'll be persuaded to come, if not by me, then by their own dreams."

"Wait, what?" Lina asked, but Xellos had already vanished.

"Weird."

**

* * *

**

_The inhabitants of Seyruun's palace were in a state of panic. The white magic that had been protecting the city for centuries was, for the first time, being revolted against by the very people it was meant to protect. _

_ "Princess Amelia? Princess Amelia!"_

_ Amelia turned towards the door. "What is it? What's going on?"_

_ An explosion on the not too far from the room answered her question._

_ "Witch hunters? In Seyruun?"_

_ "It certainly appears that way, ma'am."_

_ The sound of a second explosion reached Amelia and the servant addressing her._

_ "Princess, you have to leave. These people will kill you!"_

_ A ghost of a smile tugged at Amelia's lips. "I know. Leave; I'll follow you."_

_ The servant bowed and left. _

_ As the patter of the servant's footsteps died, Amelia allowed her eyes to close. She had decided when she first heard of the witch hunters that, if they approached her, she wouldn't run from them. "Miss Lina would never forgive me…."_

_ Voices echoing down the hall startled Amelia out of her thoughts; from the sound of it, a group for people was racing towards her._

_ When she heard them reach the door of her room, she turned to face them, a defiant smile worthy of her former traveling companion spread across her features._

**

* * *

**

Some time after Lina had finally managed to find sleep, she was awakened by a frantic pounding on her bedroom door. Groaning, she rolled out of her bed and threw open the door.

Almost immediately, Lina found herself being tackled by her roommate.

"Amelia? What the hell?"

"Oh, my God, Lina," the younger girl panted. "I just had the freakiest dream!"

Lina held Amelia at arm's length. "A dream?" the redhead repeated. "What kind of dream? A dream about what?"

"It was absolutely awful," Amelia said, tearfully. "I died, Lina. In the dream—I died!"

The meaning of Xellos's statement from earlier hit Lina; she felt the breath knocked out of her.

Amelia was still talking. "I think it has something to do with what Xellos was telling us about! Lina, we have to go with him; we have to learn magic again."

"Ok, ok, Amelia," Lina soothed. "We'll go with him; I promise."

'Alright, Xellos,' Lina thought. 'That's one. Now you just have to convince Zelgadis.'

* * *

**End Chapter Five**


	7. Beginning Travels

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary: **"There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Rating: T**

_Italics_ indicates a flashback or dream sequence.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own _Slayers_. I don't own anything, really. Sad story, right?

**Chapter Six: Beginning Travels

* * *

**

Zelgadis pulled back the sheets on his bed, frowning as he thought about the conversation he and Lina had over the phone a few minutes before.

"Zel, I know how you feel about all this," she had said, slowly, as if she was taking great care not to say the wrong thing, "but Amelia and I are going to go with Xellos. We're going to see if there's any truth to what he's been telling us."

"It's a bad idea, I'm telling you," he said, flat out. "You can go with him, but I'm not cleaning up after you when it goes wrong. Don't blame me if this goes bad."

In the end, Lina had hung up on him. There was nothing he could do to convince his friend to do something other than exactly what she wanted, especially not when she was in such a stubborn mood. Resigned to this, Zelgadis reclined on his bed, closing his eyes and allowing sleep to rush over him.

**

* * *

**

_Zelgadis felt warmth spreading down his side: fresh blood made a trail from the base of his ribcage to his belt. He swore under his breath. Older weapons weren't able to hurt him, but these newer devices were causing trouble; he hadn't been prepared, and now he would pay for it. _

_ A burst of pain flashed across his spine—he'd taken another hit. Swearing, he fell to his knees. It was one thing to run when he had the chance of getting away, but he was far too slowed now._

_ The band of witch hunters that had been following him was gaining. With two heavily bleeding wounds, there was no way he'd be able to get away from them, and he'd be damned if he died fleeing from a bunch of witch hunters._

_Another attack hit his shoulder. He turned to face his assailants, teeth bared._

_ They were young—all of them. Probably first-time hunters looking to make a name for themselves by killing one of the last remaining sorcerers. _

_ A grim smile crossed his stony features. What right had he to deny these boys infamy?_

_ Slowly, Zelgadis pulled himself to his feet, facing his attackers full on._

_ Several flashes of light and bursts of sound followed; Zelgadis fell to his knees once more, light fading from his sapphire eyes._

_ The ghost of a sad smile was still present on his lips as he fell forward onto the ground._

**

* * *

**

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Lina groaned, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and padding over to the phone.

"It's two in the morning; this had better be important," she snapped once she had picked up the receiver.

"I've changed my mind, Lina," Zelgadis's voice said slowly.

Lina nearly dropped the phone. "What?"

"I'll go along with you, Amelia and Xellos."

"Wow, great."

"I still don't trust him."

"I figured as much," Lina laughed. "I'm glad you're coming along, Zel. I really am. Now hang up the phone so that I can go back to sleep."

With a sigh, Zelgadis did just that, and Lina walked back to her room, collapsed on her bed, and went to sleep again.

**

* * *

**

Zelgadis threw the last of the bags into the trunk of his car. "When's Xellos supposed to get here?" he asked Lina as he pushed the trunk shut.

"He didn't say," Lina shrugged. She sat on the hood of the car, twirling a strand of her fiery hair around her index finger. "Hell, for all we know, he might not come at all."

"Ah, don't say that, Lina," the now familiar voice of Xellos said, sounding chipper as ever. "It'll make me think you don't trust me."

Xellos leaned against the car, watching Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia as they made the final preparations for their journey.

"Zelgadis, the drink cooler is still in the apartment," Amelia said, tugging at Zelgadis's shirtsleeve. "Will you help me get it?"

Casting a distrustful look in Xellos's direction, Zelgadis followed the younger girl back into the building.

Lina's eyes rested on Xellos; for several moments, he pretended not to notice her attention.

"Is something bothering you, Lina?" he finally asked, sitting next to her on the hood of the car.

"Amelia and Zelgadis both had dreams like mine," she said, getting right to business. "They've never had them before; why did they get them now?"

Xellos raised an eyebrow, grinning. "I'd say now is a good time for them to recall some of their past, wouldn't you?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Lina said. She stood and began pacing. "They just started having these dreams when it's convenient to you. That makes me think that you did something to them. Did you?"

"My, aren't you the suspicious one today," Xellos laughed. "Let me ask you this: in the end, would the fact that I ensured that they had those dreams make any difference? No harm has come to them because of the dreams, aside from a few hours' lost sleep, and now they're prepared to come with you to discover what they used to be. I don't see any damage done, do you?"

Lina opened her mouth to reply, but the return of Zelgadis and Amelia ended her conversation with Xellos.

"I'm pretty sure that's everything, Lina," Amelia said as she and Zelgadis shoved the cooler into the middle of the backseat. "So what now?"

The redhead turned her eyes to Xellos. "What now, Xellos?"

"Now we leave," Xellos said.

"And go where?" Zelgadis demanded, getting behind the wheel of the car.

The other man's grin broadened. "Let's just see where we end up for now."

Amelia raised her eyebrows. "You don't know where we need to go?"

"Of course I know," Xellos laughed. "Eventually, we'll be going to see my master on Wolf Pack Island, but we'll need to make a few stops beforehand, so that the three of you have more opportunity to remember what you were."

"And where will these stops be?" Zelgadis questioned, eyes narrowed.

Xellos grinned a placed a finger to his lips. "That's a secret. Now, let's go."

**

* * *

**

"We've been driving for three days, Xellos," Lina whined, slamming the book he had asked her to leaf through shut. "When are we going to take a break?"

A small laugh escaped the mazoku. "Soon, Lina, I promise. We're nearly to our first stop."

"And where exactly are we stopping?" Zelgadis asked, guiding the car into the neighboring lane. "Some death trap or mausoleum?"

Xellos offered no answer to the question. "Pull onto that road. We're stopping at one of those shops."

Begrudgingly, Zelgadis did as he was asked. Xellos directed them into the parking lot in front of what appeared to be a highly popular store.

The four of them got out of the car and stood, for a moment, studying the façade of the building.

Lina was the first person to comment. "A pottery shop? What the hell, Xellos?"

"Surprising, isn't it?" Xellos said lightly, leading the way into the shop. "Let's just see what's in here, hm?"

* * *

**End Chapter Six**


	8. Flying Pots

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary: **"There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Rating: T**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own _Slayers_. That's pretty much it.

**Chapter Seven: Flying Pots

* * *

**

Xellos ducked as soon as the door swung open, and it was lucky that he did—before the bells that hung from the door finished marking the group's arrival, a freshly-fired pot came whizzing through the air, shattering into a heap of shards as it crashed into the door frame, very near where Xellos's head would have been.

"You certainly haven't changed, Filia, dear," Xellos said as he straightened up and gestured for the others to enter the shop. "And here I thought that all of this time apart would make you miss me."

A derisive laugh came from near the back of the shop; a slender blonde stormed towards the door, another pot in hand.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she screeched as she approached.

Xellos pouted. "I need an excuse to come see my favorite lizard?"

The blonde clobbered him in the face with the pot.

"God, lady, chill out!" Lina said, wresting the pot from the blonde's grasp.

As she fought for the pottery, the blonde took her first real look at who was with her enemy.

"Lina?" she breathed.

The redhead blinked.

"Oh, my God!"

Lina found herself trapped in the woman's tight embrace.

"Now, now, Filia," Xellos said, freeing Lina from the other woman's grasp. "Let's try not to suffocate her in the first five minutes, hm?"

Filia stood in front of the younger woman. Lina could see tears in the woman's large blue eyes.

"God, Lina," Filia whispered. "It's been so long. When I heard that you were killed…."

The woman's blue eyes welled with tears again and she began squeezing the redhead once more.

Xellos rolled his eyes. "Filia? Are you even going to greet your other guests?"

Lina was released as Filia's eyes fell on Amelia and Zelgadis. With a shriek, the blond launched herself at the other two.

A sigh escaped Xellos's lips as he met Lina's eyes.

"It might be a while before she's up to talking."

**

* * *

**

Steam writhed up from the cups of hot tea that Filia had brought in. She set the whole tray full on a wooden table before taking a seat. She took a long swig from her own cup before speaking.

"The scum"—she nodded in Xellos's direction—"tells me that you're all going on a journey of sorts. Where are you going?"

"Um, well," Lina began slowly, removing a cup from the tray and bringing it to her lips, "to tell the truth, we aren't really sure. Xellos has been kinda tight-lipped about the whole thing."

"Has he?" Filia narrowed her eyes at Xellos. He didn't seem to notice her tone or her glare; he was busy poking around the back of the shop, picking up and putting down pieces of pottery.

"Well, I think you should turn right around and go home," Filia said with finality.

Lina blinked. "What?"

"Ah, Filia, are you still holding on to that old grudge?" Xellos laughed. "It was such a long time ago—isn't it about time you got over it?"

Zelgadis, Amelia and Lina jumped out of the way as the table bearing the tray full of tea was overturned.

"You—you-!" Filia's face flushed with anger; she opened and closed her mouth soundlessly several times before pulling a mace out from under her skirt.

Zelgadis pulled Lina aside as the blonde woman chased after Xellos, taking swings at him whenever he was close enough.

"What the fuck, Lina?" he said quietly. "He says he's going to bring us here to get information and all we find is some psychotic shop owner! We'd do well to turn around and go back home. I mean, I know we've seen weird shit before, but this—"

A mace careening through the air cut off Zelgadis's comment.

"You fiend!" Filia shrieked at Xellos, who was reclining lazily on a chair near the register. "Why do you always have to interfere with my life?"

Xellos slid open one amethyst colored eye; Lina felt a chill travel down her spine—she'd known Xellos long enough to know that, with him, open eyes meant serious business.

"I have no intention of getting involved in your life, Filia," he said slowly. "In fact, if our paths never cross again after today, I'll be perfectly fine with that. I brought these three here to remind them of their encounters with dragons. That's all. You'll tell them what they've forgotten—whatever secrets your kind may have let them in on— and then we're leaving. It's that simple."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Amelia said, looking back and forth from Filia to Xellos. "Dragons? There's no such thing, is there?"

Xellos laughed. "I wish that was true."

**

* * *

**

The more Lina listened to Filia's musical voice recounting the stories of the dragon race, the more fantastic and impossible the whole thing sounded. Anyone else would've decided by the time Filia was done that everything from Xellos's appearance to this journey was part of a hoax or a joke. Zelgadis had his brow furrowed in suspicion from the beginning; even Amelia was starting to look dubious.

But, for a reason she could hardly understand and was even less capable of describing, Lina believed it all. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see the valley swarming with black and gold dragons, the destruction and reconstruction of the temple of the Fire Dragon King, the massive, ancient body of the Supreme Elder….

An icy hand rested on her shoulder and Lina nearly jumped out of her chair. Xellos's lips twitched up in a grin.

"It looks like we've only been able to convince one, Filia," he said lightly. "Maybe you're not as persuasive as I'd thought you'd be."

Zelgadis made a sound of disbelief. "Consider what you're asking us to believe. You can't expect us to just accept all of it right off the bat. There's no _proof_." He looked to Lina. "Are you satisfied? We gave this a try; there's nothing to it. Let's just go back, Lina."

The redhead didn't meet his eyes—she was allowing her mind to roll over everything she'd heard in the last few hours. The images that rose to the forefront of her mind when Filia spoke didn't seem made up. They felt real. All of them.

"There is one way for me to prove to you that I'm telling the truth," Filia said, her eyes still narrowed in Xellos's direction, though her demeanor had softened somewhat. "But if you really take the time to think about it, if you really try to remember… part of you surely knows that everything I've said is true."

Lina saw Zelgadis shift uncomfortably and could not suppress a smile. So she hadn't been the only one to recall these stories in ways that were far too vivid to be mere dreams.

When Zelgadis didn't respond after several minutes, a soft smile crossed Filia's features. "Good," she said. "It's been years since I last transformed. I wasn't really looking forward to doing it."

"I've never known you to hesitate to make a fool of yourself, Filia," Xellos noted.

Filia shot a fierce glare at him. "That reminds me, Xellos—what is your master up to nowadays, hm? Is she holed up like the rest of the Mazoku lords or did she vanish with the age of magic?"

Lina had not seen any evidence of real temper in Xellos in the time that she'd known him, but at this moment she saw a glimpse of the evil that Filia spoke about in Xellos's piercing eyes.

"My master still lives; I'd encourage you to remember that," he said, his voice acidic. "She's hibernating in the north, waiting for these people to signal the time of her revival."

"You would have them revive a Mazoku lord in a time of peace?" Filia questioned incredulously.

Slowly, Xellos stepped towards the door of the shop. "Well, this little visit has worn me out," he said. "I think I'll leave you all here to discuss things for a while. I'll be back in the morning and we can leave again. If you still want to, of course."

Before Lina or anyone else could stop him, Xellos had vanished.

**

* * *

**

Zelgadis and Amelia, both slightly overwhelmed but slowly beginning to believe deep down all the information they had been forced to process within the past few hours, both gladly retreated to cots in the back of the pottery shop the moment they were first offered, leaving Lina and Filia alone in the front.

Filia rushed about, dusting the shelves of pottery and chatting away happily.

"I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you three again! After all of the horrible things that happened when magic started dying…. It was so lonely for me after that. Dragons live an eternity, you know, and I'd spent so much time with humans after we parted ways after the battle with Dark Star—all of my friends had died. I thought when Luna and Gourry didn't come back that none of you would return to this life. But here you are!"

"Luna?" Lina said slowly. "That name sounds familiar. Who's she?"

A laugh bubbled in Filia's throat. "Of course you don't remember! You don't have a sister in this life, do you?"

"Sister?"

"Yes, Luna was you big sister. She was a sorceress, too. Gods, you were _terrified_ of her! It was hilarious!"

"Why would I be scared of my sister?"

"Well, I didn't know Luna well—I don't think anyone really did—but she was intimidating, to say the least."

Filia continued to prattle on for a few minutes; Lina listened only now and then. Something was on the redhead's mind, and she was trying to decide the best way to bring it up.

"Filia," Lina began, "you don't like Xellos much, do you?"

A clenching in Filia's jaw gave Lina her answer. "Right, I thought so. So what's the deal?"

"Xellos," Filia said tightly, "is a monster."

"Yeah, I get that. But why do you hate him so much?"

Blue eyes flashed at Lina. "Xellos killed my people. He's merciless and cruel. Lina, please," the dragon said, more than a little note of pleading in her voice, "_please_ don't go with him. He just wants to use you to revive his master, and who knows what Beast Master Zelas will do if she's brought back. Going with him will be the end of you—maybe the end of all of us."

"Yeah," Lina said nonchalantly. "It may be. But, you know, I've gone for so long not knowing who I am that I really think risking my life might be worth it."

Filia looked shocked for a moment, but her expression softened into a smile. "I might have expected as much from you. Well, if you won't abandon this trip, at least let me accompany you. It may not stop Xellos from bringing his master back, but it ought to at least make it more difficult for him."

"We'll see," Lina said, yawning and stretching. "I'm gonna grab a cot and get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow; maybe by then I'll have made up my mind about how to go about making this trip."

**

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**

**End Chapter Seven**


	9. Sleeping Stories

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary: **"There was no way that the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Rating: T**

_Italics indicates memory/dream._

**DISCLAIMER:** _Slayers_… I still don't own it.

**Chapter Eight: Sleeping Stories

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**

_There was no period of half-awareness when Xellos woke. Consciousness hit him full-force, pulling him hundreds of years forward._

_Amethyst eyes snapped open, searching the darkness for any familiarity. _

_He was underground, that much was obvious: he could smell the damp earth around him, mingled as it was with a myriad of other smells—smells that most certainly were not present in the time he'd left behind._

"_Master Zelas?" he called, testing the waters, as it were._

_Nothing. He should have expected as much, considering the state of things when she'd forced him into hibernation. _

_Xellos closed his eyes, releasing a sharp breath. His last days awake weren't pleasant; he didn't care to think of them, not when he was finally able to move again. _

'_Magic must be on the rise again,' he mused. 'What wonderful times these must be!'_

_Times…._

_A frown creased the mazoku's face. He had no idea what time period he was in—no notion as to the amount of time that had passed since the beginning of his enchanted sleep. Not only that, but he had no idea where his master was or how to get to her._

_Uncertainty crept up on him and wrapped its arms around his chest. It was a new feeling and one that he didn't care very much for._

_If there had ever been a point in his existence when he didn't have a master telling him what he needed to do, he couldn't recall it. _

_Xellos had never been one panic. And he trusted his master—she surely wouldn't leave her servant alone without some way of finding out what his new orders would be. All he had to do was think, remember the last things his master had said._

_Memories from the end of those last years were slow in coming—he'd worked hard at smothering them just a few moments ago, but now he needed them._

_Images arose, eventually, in swirls of red and blue, some stronger than others. One memory—one image—stood out from the rest: a face, surrounded by a tangled mass of locks the color of fire mingling with blood. Red eyes gazing without seeing. A head separated from a small, lean body._

"_Lina,' the mazoku said to himself. He had found her that way—the shell of his favorite human abandoned by the spirit that should inhabit it._

_She _had_ been his favorite human, Lina, though he'd never admit it. Seeing her lifeless form did more to him than he'd expected it to. How many years had it been since he'd seen that?_

_That was probably the first thing he needed to do—figure out what year it was, how much time had passed since the beginning of his hibernation. Slowly, he pulled himself away from the darkness that wrapped itself around him._

_The new smells assaulted him as he made his way through a tunnel—one that hadn't existed when he first slept._

_Stone replaced mud as he continued along the passageway. Raised lines of metal ran along the center of the tunnel, dividing in two what appeared to be a smooth stone path. The fastest way to get to the surface would be to go straight up, but, considering the violent reactions that had met feats that were considered impossible by humans, Xellos felt that it would be best if he erred on the side of discretion. He set off down the path._

_After a time, lamps molded into the walls of the tunnel began appearing, along with glossy, if tattered, images of humans smiling vapidly or making ridiculous expressions clearly meant to be seductive. The longer he walked, the brighter and more frequently occurring the lamps became, and the newer the pictures on the walls appeared to be. _

_It wasn't long before he found humans—hundreds of them. He felt them first, of course: the swirl of emotions ranging from elation to despair, the delicious taste of the fear of little ones convinced that the monsters from their nightmares must reside in tunnels like this one._

_Very lucky for the mazoku that no one listens to children: they're aware of far more than their grown counterparts._

_Xellos felt himself being pulled towards the crowd and loosed a grin. The pull was familiar—the same thing that he felt when given an order from Zelas. He knew now that he was on the right track, going where his master wanted him to go. The crowd was rushing along the metal bars that dissected the tunnel. He was about to start walking along the metal lines when a rush of air surprised him. What appeared to be a giant silver worm barreled past him, rocketing down the tunnel along those metal bars._

_He watched the monstrosity pass by him, the end of it stopping several feet away from him._

_The doors slid open, and the hordes he had sensed exploded out of them, racing this way and that, and paying him little heed. Xellos approached the area that the people were spilling onto, the stone path splitting: the new path seemed to lead upward—most of the people arriving were making their way to that path._

_His escape route decided, Xellos crept to the wall of the platform, leaning against the surface and allowing the smorgasbord of emotions drifting from the crowd—it had been so long since he'd last tasted the feelings of humans—to wash over him. He feasted as they hurried down the walkway, none of them seeming to see him._

_As he fed, his thoughts became more organized. Zelas had left orders for him—not spoken ones, perhaps, but his mind was being pulled along a certain line as much as his body had been before. Somewhere in the far north, his master slept, trapped in the same enchanted slumber that had held him. He has to go to her, to wake her up. But his power wouldn't be enough to do it. Pulling Zelas out of her slumber would require calling on the power of the Lord of Nightmares, something that he couldn't do._

_In fact, he could only think of one being capable of doing what was necessary to revive the Beastmaster, but he'd seen her corpse with his own eyes centuries ago._

"Well, the greats will return."

_Zelas's voice echoed in his head. She had told him; it was important._

"And you will be the one to greet them."

_That was it. Lina and the others must have been returned, and he had to find them. 'Probably easier said than done, that,' he mused. But he had known Lina and her companions so well—he'd traveled with them and fought near them, if not necessarily with them. If anyone would be able to find these few needles in a haystack of people, he would._

_As he faded into the Astral Plane, a smirk crossed his face._

_Who knows? He might even be able to make a game of this._

**

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**

Lina opened her eyes slowly. She was used to having vivid dreams lately; they'd almost become comfortable since the time she'd discovered that they were really memories from a past life, but there was no way that the dream she'd just had came from her. Nothing in it felt familiar—not the subway it happened in, not the smells and sounds and not the voice that the thoughts of the dream-person sounded in.

"I thought it might be helpful if you could glimpse into my memories," Xellos's voice said slowly. "I remember all of the things that you've forgotten."

The redhead was unsurprised when she sat up and saw Xellos leaning against the wall opposite her cot, his eyes narrowed in appraisal. "What did you see?" he asked.

She arched an eyebrow. "Don't you know? It was your memory, after all."

"But it must have looked different to you than it did to me," he said, grinning, he expression softening to one that was almost friendly. "You're right. I don't need to be told what you saw."

"Is this going to become a nightly thing?" Lina asked, twirling a strand of fiery hair around her index finger. "This whole memory sharing thing—is it going to become a habit?"

He was regarding her carefully again. "Maybe," he said. "I'm surprised, Lina. I'd have thought this would've become too much for you by now."

"What d'you mean?"

"You find out that you're the reincarnation of a sorceress—and not just any sorceress, but a _legendary_ one. Then you meet one of the last surviving dragons, and she tells you that I, the one who revealed your past life to you, am a monster, and then you're told that you're meant to revive a monster lord…. Forgive me, but I thought that you'd be overwhelmed. I suppose I should have expected your resilience. After all, you always rose to the challenge before."

Lina shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I _should_ be freaking out. But it seems _right_—the dreams, the stories… in some really weird way, they make sense."

"I suppose the deeper nature of your previous self is still intact. I can't see Lina's soul being damaged, even by death."

He was still observing her, his amethyst eyes trained on her form. She couldn't help but shudder: there was something about that stare that was more than a little unnerving.

"I don't remember everything," Lina muttered.

"Hm?"

"About my past. I don't remember everything."

"I shouldn't think that you would."

"But you do?"

"Naturally."

She narrowed her eyes at him, considering whether or not she wanted to ask her next question. "Would you tell me?"

A smirk tugged at Xellos's lips. "Maybe."

Moments passed in silence. "Well?" Lina prompted.

"What do you want to know, Lina?"

The answer she gave was a simple one.

"Everything."

The knowing smirk spread across the mazoku's face.

"I'll see what I can do."

**

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**

**End Chapter Eight**

That's it for the reposts, guys. Part nine should be up in a few days. Thanks for reading!**  
**


	10. Small Steps

**Ashes to Ashes**

**Summary: **"There was no way the age of magic would last forever." Xellos/Lina

**Rating: T**

**Author's Note:** So, for those who don't know, I've gone through and revised and reposted the rest of this story, and now I'm working on it again. It may be a bit rough starting out though. Taking a nearly two year hiatus can make it difficult to get back in the swing of a story. On the upside, with the release of Revolution and Evolution-R, I've got some more material to work with. As always, thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own anything. At all. I mean, nothing. Really.

**Chapter Nine: Small Steps

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**

Lina yawned and stretched as she made her way from the back of the shop where the cots had been set up to the storefront where, she assumed, Filia would be waiting for her. After her voyage into Xellos's memories, Lina had found it difficult to return to sleep—not in the least because of Xellos's promise to give her the details of her former life.

Some of the details, Lina mentally corrected herself. She had learned by this point that Xellos very rarely revealed all that he knew, and that he didn't reveal anything that wasn't going to be useful to him at some point or another.

It was odd, really, when Lina thought about it. Xellos was clearly manipulating her into accomplishing his own goals, just as Filia had said, but, for some reason, Lina was content to allow him to move forward with his plans in exchange for knowledge.

"Good morning, Lina," Filia said when Lina stepped through the doorway from the back of the shop. "Sleep well?"

Lina laughed. "Well enough, I guess. Sleep doesn't really come easily for me."

"Dreams of the past?" Filia asked.

"Yeah," Lina. "How'd you know?"

"From what I understand, it's pretty common for a reincarnated soul to carry images and memories from previous lives," Filia replied.

"Huh," Lina mumbled, leaning against the counter. "I wonder why that is."

"The soul wants to return to its original life," Xellos's voice answered, causing Lina and Filia both to jump.

Xellos's grin broadened at the reaction his presence received and he continued, "Your soul feels trapped in this life; it misses the freedom it had in the age of magic. It wants you to remember what you were."

Filia crossed her arms. "I don't remember inviting you back here," she said sharply.

"I won't be forcing my company on you for long," Xellos said, meandering over to the counter. "I'm only here to collect Lina and her friends. Once they're ready to go, I'll be on my way. I have no intention of spending any more time around you than necessary."

When she saw Filia's face reddening, Lina decided that it was time for her to check in on Amelia and Zelgadis. The dragon maiden's shrieks echoed off the walls of the shop as Lina closed the door to the back of the shop.

"Hey, guys," Lina said, leaning against the door.

"What's going on out there?" Zelgadis said, nodding towards the door.

The sound of a pot shattering against the door answered his question.

"I guess Xellos showed up," Zelgadis sighed.

Lina nodded.

"I don't see why Miss Filia hates him so much," Amelia commented as she shoved her belongings back into her bag.

"I do," Zelgadis muttered.

"Either way," Lina said, brushing off both Zel's and Amelia's comments, "I think it's about time for us to head out. It's nice here and all, but I'd really like to see what else this trip has in store for us."

**

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**

By the time Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia had all packed and returned to the front of the shop, Xellos and Filia were standing on opposite sides of the room, each pointedly not looking at the other.

"So," Lina said, shifting uncomfortably at the tension that filled the room. "Um, what now?"

"Now," Xellos said smoothly, "we leave."

"To reawaken an evil mazoku lord," Filia spat.

A glare from Xellos silenced her.

"Filia has requested to accompany us on our journey," the mazoku said patiently.

Lina raised her eyebrows, glancing from Filia to Xellos. "And?" she asked.

"And the scum has told me in no uncertain terms that I am to stay here, if I value my health," Filia answered, with a significant look at Lina.

"I can't imagine you'd much enjoy the trip," Xellos said innocently. "Are we ready to go?"

Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia all murmured their assent.

"Well, then there's really no reason to waste any more time here," Xellos said cheerfully. "Let's get on our way."

Zelgadis and Amelia filed their way out of the shop; Lina made to follow them, but Filia stopped her.

"Please, Lina," Filia whispered.

Lina glanced at Xellos. He was leaning against the doorframe, his eyes arm crossed across his chest and a frown tugging at his lips, looking displeased, but not as though he was going to interfere with Lina's choice. Turning her eyes back to Filia, Lina said, "I'll listen to what you have to say, but I'm not promising that I'll change my mind."

Xellos sighed, pushing himself away from the doorframe and making his way outside. "Listen if you want. But do hurry. It's a long way to Sairaag."

The door swung shut behind him, and Lina turned to Filia once more.

The dragon's blue eyes were surveying Lina carefully. "I know I can't convince you not to go with him," she began, "but please, _please_ be careful. Xellos isn't loyal to anyone but his master, and he views people a nothing more than means to an end. He'll use you, and, once his master is awake again, he may well kill you. He's turned on people before. Travel with him if you have to, but don't trust him."

Lina frowned. "He's said that the dragons don't want people to learn magic again. There any truth to that?"

Filia's wince answered the question. "I should've known he'd tell you that. Yes, it's true, but let me explain.

"As long as humans remain ignorant of magic, the mazoku are powerless. They can't do anything to harm the people of the world or disrupt the balance of lfe.

"Their goal is to return the world to the chaos it came from. If humans can't use magic, the mazoku have no real means to do that."

"So my learning how to use magic could lead to the end of the world?" Lina asked.

"Not to be dramatic, Lina, but yes."

Silence stretched over the next several moments.

"You don't expect that to stop me, do you?" Lina asked.

Filia studied the young woman for long moment, taking in Lina's determined stance—so very like the Lina Filia had traveled with so long ago.

"No," Filia smiled. "No, I don't."

"Alright, then," Lina said, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. She stopped as she reached the handle.

"I'm not disregarding what you said, Filia," Lina said. "But this is something I've got to do, you know?"

Filia nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Lina."

With a final wave to the dragon, Lina left the shop, allowing the door to swing shut behind her.

Amelia and Zelgadis were already back in the car, discussing the best route to take to their next destination, but Xellos waited beside the car for her, his eyes narrowed in appraisal.

"Well, Lina," he began, "what do you think?"

"You heard what she told me," Lina said.

Xellos nodded.

"And you're not going to try to deny any of it?"

"There's really no reason to," Xellos said.

Lina narrowed her eyes at the mazoku. "What if I chose not to go with you?"

A smile crossed Xellos's face. "If you were going to leave, you would've left by now."

"Would you let me change my mind?"

All humor left Xellos's face. "It has to be your decision, Lina. Why do you think I went through the trouble of convincing your friends to join us? You're free to do as you choose. If you want to go back to Atlas City, just say so."

The redhead pondered for a moment, her lips pursed in thought. "Okay, Xellos, I'm gonna take you at your word there. We'll keep going for now. But just for now."

The cheery grin returned to Xellos's face. "Very well then. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

**

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**

**End Chapter Nine**


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